XENIA — A death row inmate who has maintained his innocence for decades is getting a new trial.

David Lee Myers was convicted and sentenced to death in 1996 for the much-publicized railroad spike death of Amanda Jo Maher near some abandoned railroad tracks in Xenia. In February, his attorneys filed a motion in Greene County Common Pleas Court to vacate his death sentence and receive a new trial based on newly discovered DNA evidence they said proves his innocence.

After an evidentiary hearing last month, Visiting Judge Jonathan P. Hein Aug. 6 vacated the conviction and sentenced and gave Myers a new trial.

“Based upon the evidence presented at the hearing, and based upon the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, the Court finds that the Defendant’s new evidence is sufficiently reliable — in both theory and in reality — to undermine the integrity of the trial verdict,” Hein wrote. “The Defendant’s motion for a new trial must be granted.”

Myers legal team was pleased with the outcome.

“In two thorough opinions, the Court agreed that this new DNA evidence warrants a new trial,” said Elizabeth Smith, pro bono counsel for Myers said in an email statement. “After carefully considering the voluminous evidence presented at the lengthy evidentiary hearing, the Court found that ‘the new evidence clearly supports the Defendant’s trial defense that another male committed the offense and that the Defendant was not present.’ Mr. Myers never confessed, and the case against him was wholly circumstantial. Additionally, given scientific advancements over the past three decades, the Court correctly concluded that Mr. Myers was materially prejudiced by what we now know to be unreliable junk science used to convict him.”

The Greene County Prosecutor’s Office has opposed myriad motions by Myers since he first asked for a new trial and plans to appeal Heim’s decision.

“While we respect the Court’s decision, we are deeply disappointed and disagree with the granting of a new trial in this case in addition to the Court’s decision to vacate the conviction,” Prosecutor David D. Hayes said. “Our appellate counsel is reviewing the decisions and preparing an appeal. We will be appealing both of the Court’s decisions to the Second District Court of Appeals.”

According to the order from Heim, the case will be scheduled for “further pre-trial proceedings,” but no dates have been set it. It is also unclear if Myers will be released from prison.

Contact Scott Halasz at 937-502-4507.